


Tucked In

by cheddarbug



Series: Flufftober2019 [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Flufftober2019, Nero is a dad, Nero is a worrier, New Baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 10:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20777348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheddarbug/pseuds/cheddarbug
Summary: Just some very sweet fluff of Nero being in love with the two most important things in his life.(This may or may not be something to be included in the You Asked For This fic in the future ^^)





	Tucked In

Nero woke with a start. When he had been unconsciously reaching across the bed to pull Carine closer, he had found her side cold and empty and he jolted awake. His ears strained in the silence, listening for any sound coming from down the hall as his eyes tried to adjust to the darkness of night. It was late, or perhaps it was early? It didn’t matter, all he knew was that it was dark. 

He reached for the small speaker next to his side of the bed and put his ear to it, but the other end was just as silent as the rest of the house. Silence was a good thing, right? He scratched at his head trying to remember everything he had read and everything Elaine had explained to them before they arrived home just a few nights ago. 

With a tug of a cord, he lit the lamp beside his bed and wiped what little sleep was left in his eyes. All things were good, they had to be. Carine might have turned off the speakers he had built so she wouldn’t disturb his sleep with her singing...but it wouldn’t  _ hurt _ just to peek in, would it?

Nero padded his way across the room and quietly opened their bedroom door so he could tiptoe the few fulms into the next room adjacent to their own. It had been  _ his _ idea to just put in a new door that connected the rooms for quicker access, but Carine had assured him that this was adequate. If her parents could tend to her and her sister in this room years ago, why couldn’t they do the same? 

The door was cracked and a soft blue glow emanated from within. There was no humming, nor was there any singing. In fact, there were no sounds at all to be heard coming from within. He had no reason to think anything bad could have happened. There wasn’t a house in all of the Lavender Beds that had a better security system in place than their own thanks to his innovation, but that didn’t stop a hard lump from forming in his throat. 

_ Get yourself together, _ he scolded as he placed his hand on the door to open it wider.  _ No one would dare try and get into the house of the Warrior of Light. _

His pep talk did nothing to ease his heart or his mind and he knew he wouldn’t rest until he could see both of them quiet and content. That’s all he needed. A small confirmation that everything was just as perfect as it was before he settled in for the night. 

Relief washed over him the moment he found Carine sitting in the rocking chair. She had moved it closer, at some point, to the hand-made crib that matched it. The very same set that she said her father had built with his own two hands the day he found out Elaine was with child. Her arm was draped over the edge, fingers likely as close as they could get to the tiny being swaddled on the soft mattress. 

If Nero thought he couldn’t love her anymore than he did, he would have been wrong. 

She was exhausted. Her silver hair was pulled into some mess of a bun with pieces either falling out or missed all together piled on top of her head. Dark circles lined her eyes, a testament to the sleepless nights she had endured since arriving home. There was still a roundness to her face, a softness from the baby weight she yet carried. 

Nero found himself falling in love with her all over again. 

Knowing that Carine was safe and sound and sleeping peacefully, he could relax even if only an ilm. He wouldn’t be able to sleep until he knew Marni was content and resting as well. 

If someone would have told him years ago he would love anything more than magitek or ancient allagans or himself, he would have laughed in their face. Standing here now, looking down at the halo of blonde curls sitting atop his daughter’s head, he couldn’t imagine loving anything  _ more. _ She was utter perfection, his  _ magnum opus. _ She was his first thought in the morning and the last one before he drifted off to sleep. 

Just like her mother, Marni was sleeping softly. Worried she might catch a chill with nothing more than the swaddled cloth covering her, he reached for the other side of the crib and draped the knitted white blanket that resembled a moogle over her. It was another gift from Elaine, one of a great many, and personally knitted by her hands. She said something about things made with the hands had more love in them and that people could feel that love when they used them. He never knew what she meant by that until he saw the smallest of smiles on Marni’s face as the blanket covered her. Maybe it was just a product of his imagination, but it warmed him all the same. 

Nero then turned to Carine. There would be no convincing her to come to bed. She hadn’t slept soundly since they arrived home and she hadn’t spent a full night in their own room either. He went back to their room and retrieved her favorite blanket, yet another one of Elaine Monteil’s excellent creations, and brought it back to drape over her shoulders. Her head lolled to the other side and her eyelids fluttered briefly before she smiled in content. 

He kissed her forehead and quietly tiptoed out of the room once again, pausing long enough to look back at them and wishing there was a way to keep this memory alive forever. 

_ Now wouldn’t that be an invention, _ he smirked to himself as he settled back into bed and pulled the blankets over his shoulders.  _ A device to record memories… _

**Author's Note:**

> I. Can't. Even.
> 
> And yes. Nero created the first baby monitoring set in Eorzea and later went on to create cameras and video cameras too all because he needs to be able to keep his favorite memories tucked somewhere safe. He is totally *that* dad. (Excuse my headcanon lol)


End file.
